Vehicles often include electrical systems for facilitating operation of the vehicle and increasing the comfort of an operator of the vehicle. Such electrical systems may include one or more power sources that produce electrical power, one or power-consuming devices, and power-distribution networks for distributing power from the power sources to the power-consuming devices. In some circumstances, the power-consuming devices may draw an undesirably high amount of power and it may be appropriate to limit the aggregate amount of power supplied to the power-consuming devices. Indiscriminately reducing the power supplied to the power-consuming devices may be problematic because it may cause failure of certain power-consuming devices that are critical to proper operation of driving systems of the vehicle. For example, excessively reducing the power supplied to an electrical controller of a prime mover of the vehicle may cause the controller and, thus, the prime mover to fail.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0144779 (“the '779 application”), filed on Jan. 17, 2003, discloses a method for reducing the aggregate amount of power consumed by an electrical system of a vehicle without compromising performance of power-consuming devices critical to proper operation of driving systems of the vehicle. The '779 application discloses a vehicle electrical system with loads that are essential for driving of the vehicle and loads that are not essential for driving of the vehicle. The method disclosed by the '779 application includes monitoring the amount of power consumed by loads that are not essential for driving. The method further includes automatically discontinuing or reducing the supply of power to one or more of those loads not essential for driving if they consume an aggregate amount of power greater than a predetermined amount.
Although the control method of the '779 application economizes electrical power consumption without compromising operation of the driving systems of the vehicle, certain disadvantages persist. For example, limiting the power supplied to devices not required for driving to an arbitrary, predetermined amount may unnecessarily compromise performance of those devices. Additionally, when the vehicle is not being driven, the method may fail to capitalize on the opportunity to reduce the power supplied to power-consuming devices only necessary for driving, while maintaining operator satisfaction by providing full power to other power-consuming devices.
The control methods of the present disclosure solve one or more of the problems set forth above.